No Time to be Lazy in the Lord

(2 Thessalonians 3:6-12)

There is no time to be lazy in the Lord. Laziness is not something that is acceptable as it breeds idleness and people become busybodies.

The scripture under review today is quite clear on this matter and that there is no time for laziness in the Lord. And even though it is speaking of working for the Lord in the physical sense, it is even more important in the spiritual sense.

Laziness in any form or any situation is condemned. It leads to all kinds of evil. So let us look at why there is no time to be lazy in the Lord in some more detail.

There is no time to be lazy in the Lord physically.

This is what the scripture has to say today.

6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8 we did not eat any one’s bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. 9 It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12)

As we read these words of Paul we see that in a physical sense there was no time to be lazy in the Lord. Paul was quite clear about the need for all people to work.

He identifies the evils of not working as being idle and becoming busybodies. Basically those who do no fruitful work are gadabouts who create trouble by gossipping and telling tales.

Paul’s instruction is quite severe: If any one will not work, let him not eat.

Actually in the Greek it is a little less severe than this particular translation. It should read as: If anyone is NOT WILLING to work, let him not eat.

Sometimes the reason a person is not or cannot work is outside of their control. For example, in the lock downs caused by the spread of COVID, many businesses have had to close their doors for a time preventing people from working. It is not that the people are not willing to work, they physically cannot work because of government led restrictions.

But the lazy person who is not willing to work is the one who needs to get their act together. It is those people, especially if they are Christians, who Paul was concerned about. They are the ones who are being unfruitful and are a burden on the community because they are being lazy.

Work is important. For a Christian it is important because it adds value in many ways.

Working helps the individual, the business, the community, and the broader economy. It adds value in many ways. It also enables the worker to provide for the needs of the family and others.

But there is also a spiritual and emotional aspect to the need to work.

No time to be lazy in the Lord spiritually.

There is no time to be lazy in the Lord from a spiritual perspective too. In fact it is especially important in these times when so many things are pressing down upon people.

Work is necessary as it keeps us from becoming idle in spirit and mind.

When our spirit is idle, the passions and desires of the flesh well up and can lead us astray. But when we are working our mind is set on good things. We think on the things that add value and provide benefit to ourselves and others, and not just in a financial sense.

Working builds up our self-esteem and wards off depression. Sure it can be stressful and if our work is causing us too much stress, then perhaps we need to find a different job.

But some stress is not a bad thing. Good stress tests our abilities and makes us stronger because we learn and grow.

There is also a deeper dimension to this issue too. There is no time to be lazy in the Lord in relation to our work for Him and our walk with Him.

We are in the last days. There are perhaps only a handful of years left before the return of the Lord. So it is important that we focus our minds on the things of the Lord and work towards finding what He sees as good, right, and true.

Studying the word of the Lord is a work we need to do so that we please the Lord. And that is perhaps the most important work we can do.

It is easy to be lazy in the Lord, and many Christians are lazy.

They just accept blindly whatever their ministers, priests, and pastors are teaching without checking the truth for themselves. This is a terrible mistake and in truth it is laziness because you need to work to find the truth.

Who knows whether what that person is saying is right or not? The only way to find out is to test it against the measuring stick of the scriptures.

One only has to look at the fall from grace of some of the high profile ministers, pastors, and preachers in recent times to see that there is error in their life, and error in their ministries.

The challenge in large parts of the church in these days is that it has become a popularity thing. Preachers are treated like rock stars rather than looking to the Rock who is Jesus Christ. And the challenge is that there is a great deal of false teaching in the modern church that is not productive and is being accepted by too many Christians through laziness. They don’t check the truth for themselves and so are led astray.

So there is no time to be lazy in the Lord. Seek the truth and find His way to life. On the Day of Judgement, these “super pastors” will not stand with you when God calls you to account for what you have done over your life. You will stand alone and saying you listened to these men rather than to the words of Jesus Christ is not going to cut it.

There is no time for laziness in the Lord. If you are not seeking for yourself, begin today. Get your Bible and start reading it to find out what Jesus had to say, not what these men are saying because they may not be telling the truth.

And don’t blindly accept what I have to say either. I am human and I make mistakes too.

Focus your mind and work at knowing what the Lord had to say.

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